Try answering the questions from file "Question Paper - 2010" before you look at the

answers below.
ALL QUESTIONS CARRY EQUAL WEIGHTAGE.

Q. No. Questions Answers
1. The age of the Earth is ___________ million years.
A) 3900; B) 4200; C) 4600; D). 4800
A B C D

2. Which is the most abundant element in the Earths crust?
(A) silica; (B) iron; (C) oxygen; (D) aluminium

A B C D

3. Which is the most common mineral in the Earths crust?
(A) quartz; (B) mica; (C) amphibole; (D) feldspar

A B C D

4. _________ is commonly referred to as fools gold.
(A) pyrite; (B) chalcopyrite; (C) pyrrhotite;
(D) none of these It is a joke!

A B C D

5. What is emery powder used as?
(A) A filler in ceramic material;
(B) For the manufacture of fine crystal glass
(C) As abrasive
(D) A mixture in paints

A B C D

6. The general process by which rocks and minerals are broken down at or
near the Earths surface is called ___________.
(A) weathering; (B) denudation; (C) erosion; (D) corrosion

A B C D

7. Which is the most widespread mineral group distributed in sedimentary,
igneous and metamorphic rocks?
(A) quartz; (B) feldspars; (C) clay minerals; (D) carbonates

A B C D

8. __________ rocks form at great depths inside the earth.
(A) volcanic; (B) plutonic; (C) hypabyssal; (D) hypogene
A B C D

9. _______ is the principal raw material for manufacturing steel.
(A) Pyrite; (B) Magnetite; (C) Bauxite; (D) A and B

A B C D

10. Limestone is used for manufacturing ___________.
(A) bricks; (B) cement; (C) glass; (D) A and C

A B C D

11. India is an exporter of _________________.
(A) Diamonds; (B) Gold; (C) Copper ore; (D) Iron ore

A B C D

12. An igneous rock containing coarse mineral grains indicates
______________.
(A) Slow cooling; (B) Fast cooling;
(C) Not related to cooling rate; (D) magma composition

A B C D


13. Sedimentary rocks form because of ______________.
(A) chemical precipitation; (B) sediment deposition;
(C) A and B; (D) Weathering

A B C D

14. Metamorphic rocks form due to the action of ________
(A) Water; (B) Pressure; (C) Temperature; (D) B and C

A B C D

15. The fossils recovered from a sedimentary rock are shown below.

These are,
A) Brachiopod and Ammonite; C) Coral and Lamellibranch;
B) Ammonite and Coral; D) Lamellibranch and Ammonite

A B C D

16. The possible depositional environment of the rock containing fossils
shown above was
A) Fluvial; B) Aeolian; C) Glacial; D) Marine

A B C D

17. Which of the following is a non-clastic sedimentary rock?
A) Conglomerate; B) Chalk; C) Sandstone; D) Shale

A B C D

18. During which geological period did most of the coal deposits form?
A) Ordovician; B) Carboniferous; C) Jurassic; D) Pleistocene

A B C D

19. The oldest fossil recorded on the earth is about ________ billion years old.
A) 3; B) 2; C) 1; D) 0.5
A B C D

20. The clasts of a sedimentary rock are between 5 mm and 10 mm in size. So,
the rock will be named as ___________.
A) Shale; B) Sandstone; C) Conglomerate; D) Siltstone

A B C D

21. The Deccan volcanism in India took place __________ million years ago.
A) 55; B) 65; C) 75; D) 85

A B C D

22. A typical sedimentary rock indicating glaciation in the past is
A) Shale; B) Tillite; C) Limestone; D) Lignite

A B C D


23. A large number of animals got extinct at the end of the Cretaceous time.
This extinction was caused by ________.
A) Meteorite impact; B) Tsunami;
C) Volcanism; D) A and C

A B C D

24. If a piece of rock is crushed into very fine particles, it leads to _________.
A) An increase in surface area;
B) A decrease in surface area;
C) An increase in the volume of rock;
D) A decrease in the volume of rock

A B C D

25. Rocks containing fossils of __________ would be the oldest.
A) Dinosaur bones; B) Trilobites;
C) Bird bones; D) Woolly mammoth bones

A B C D

26. Which of the following can form in the shortest length of time?
A) Soil profile; B) Coral reef; C) Volcano; D) River valley

A B C D

27. Which of the following statements about transpiration and river runoff in
India is correct?
A) The amount of water that is lost through vegetation is greater than the
amount of water carried away by rivers;
B) The amount of water carried away by rivers is at least three orders of
magnitude higher than the amount of water that is lost through
vegetation;
C) The amount in each case is approximately the same;
D) The amount of water that escapes through vegetation is insignificant
compared to the amount of water carried away by rivers.

A B C D

28. On an eroded sedimentary dome, the drainage pattern is usually ________.
A) Dendritic; B) Trellis; C) Annular; D) Parallel
A B C D

29. Marine influence upon climate is responsible for
A) an increase in the annual temperature range
B) an increase in the annual rainfall totals
C) a decrease in the annual temperature range
D) a decrease in the annual rainfall totals

A B C D

30. Most tropical cyclones originate _______________.
A) between 0 and 5 north and south of the equator
B) in the centers of sub-tropical highs
C) between 10 and 20
D) to the west of westerly winds

A B C D

31. Rain-shadow zone occurs on the lee (or leeward side) of a mountain
because _________.
A) adiabatic warming lowers the relative humidity
B) air forced to rise is warmed by the adiabatic process
C) condensation has a drying effect upon the air
D) no water vapour remains in the descending air.

A B C D

32. The temperature is minimum typically __________.
A) just after sunset; B) around midnight;
C) about 2:00 to 3:00 am; D) just before sunrise

A B C D

33. The following diagram shows the contour pattern of an area. Identify the
features labeled A, B and C.

P) A, B and C represent valleys.
Q) A, B and C represent spurs.
R) A and C represent valleys and B is a spur.
S) B is a valley and A and C are spurs.

P Q R S

34. Which lawn would need more frequent watering?
A) One with clayey soil; C) One with silty soil;
B) One with sandy-silty loam soil; D) One with sandy soil

A B C D

35. Movement of groundwater is most rapid ______________.
A) Within acquicludes
B) Beneath streams in valley bottoms
C) Where the land surface is highest
D) Where the water table is highest

A B C D

36. Crevasse splays are associated with
A) Glaciers; B) Waterfalls; C) Natural levees; D) Moraines
A B C D

37. Which of the following statements about tides is FALSE?
A) Most places on Earth experience two high and two low tides each day
B) Most places on Earth experience one high tide and one low tide each
day
C) Each month there are two spring tides and two neap tides
D) The primary body that influences the tides is the Moon

A B C D


38. The following graph shows the daily temperature cycle at a station for two
days.

Which of the following statements is correct?
P) Graphs A and B represent the temperature cycle of an overcast day
Q) Graphs A and B represent the temperature cycle of a clear day
R) Graph A represents the temperature cycle of a clear day and graph B
represents the temperature cycle of an overcast day
S) Graph A represents the temperature cycle of an overcast day and Graph
B represents the temperature cycle of a clear day

P Q R S

39. Which of the following criteria is NOT used to establish marine life
zones?
A) Availability of sunlight; B) Distance from shore;
C) Seawater depth; D) Seawater salinity

A B C D

40. Adiabatic cooling occurs when a parcel of air
A) Rises without exchanging heat with the surroundings
B) Rises on exchanging heat with the surroundings
C) Rises from equator to poles
D) Rises from ground to mountain top

A B C D

41. Psychrometer is an instrument to measure
A) Rainfall; B) Humidity; C) Pressure; D) Wind direction
A B C D

42. Albedo is the fraction of
A) Greenhouse gas in the atmosphere
B) Moisture content of the atmosphere
C) Radiation reflected by the earth
D) Momentum received by the atmosphere

A B C D

43. Which of the following is not a tropical storm?
A) Cyclone; B) Hurricane; C) Typhoon; D) Tornado
A B C D


44. Radiation fog occurs during a __________.
A) Long night with clear sky
B) Long night with cloudy sky
C) Long day with clear sky
D) Long day with cloudy sky

A B C D

45. Dynes / cm
2
is the unit of ________________.
A) Force; B) Acceleration; C) Momentum; D) Pressure
A B C D

46. A northerly wind means a __________________.
A) Wind coming from the north
B) Wind going towards the north
C) Wind in the northern hemisphere
D) Wind in northern India

A B C D

47. The most abundant gas in the atmosphere is ___________.
A) Oxygen; B) Hydrogen; C) Nitrogen; D) Carbon dioxide
A B C D

48. The temperature of a dry air parcel at a hill top is 30
o
C. If the adiabatic
lapse rate of dry air is 1
o
C/100 m, what will be the temperature of the air
at 1 km height from the top of the hill?
A) 20
o
C; B) 25
o
C; C) 30
o
C; D) 40
o
C

A B C D

49. For a black body radiation, which of the following relations is correct? (E
is the energy and T the temperature).
A) E T; B) E T
2
; C) E T
3
; D) E T
4


A B C D

50. Troposphere is that part of the atmosphere where temperature
__________.
A) Increases with height
B) Increases with height in the day but decreases with height in the night
C) Decreases with height
D) Remains constant

A B C D

51. Trade winds occur in the __________.
A) Polar region; B) Tropical region;
C) Extra-tropical region; D) Southern Ocean

A B C D

52. Isobaric surface refers to a surface of equal __________________.
A) Humidity; B) Temperature; C) Pressure; D) Wind
A B C D

53. To track the movement of cyclone we need ______________.
A) An aircraft with meteorological sensors
B) A polar orbiting satellite
C) A lunar orbiting satellite
D) A geostationary satellite

A B C D

54. An anemometer is used for measuring ______________.
A) Humidity; B) Rainfall; C) Wind; D) Radiation
A B C D


55. Which of the following states receives northeast monsoon rainfall?
A) Goa; B) Maharashtra; C) Karnataka; D) Tamil Nadu
A B C D

56. El Nino refers to ____________________.
A) Cooling of the eastern Pacific Ocean
B) Warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean
C) Warming of the western Pacific Ocean
D) Warming of the Indian Ocean

A B C D

57. Which of the following is NOT associated with global warming?
A) Melting of polar ice caps; B) Increase in CO
2
concentration;
C) Acid rain; D) Sea level rise

A B C D

58. Depletion of ozone in the atmosphere will lead to _____________.
A) Increase in atmospheric temperature
B) Decrease in atmospheric temperature
C) Increase in the earths UV radiation
D) Decrease in the earths UV radiation

A B C D

59. During precipitation, the atmosphere ________.
A) Gains heat through sensible heat
B) Loses heat through sensible heat
C) Gains heat through latent heat
D) Loses heat through latent heat

A B C D

60. With increasing depth the ocean temperature ___________.
A) Increases; B) Decreases;
C) Remains constant; D) First increases and then decreases

A B C D

61. The speed of sound in the oceans is close to _______________.
A) 1.5 m/s; B) 15 m/s; C) 150 m/s; D) 1500 m/s

A B C D

62. Tides in the ocean are the result of balance of force between
A) Gravitational force and centrifugal force
B) Gravitational force and centripetal force
C) Gravitational force and frictional force
D) Gravitational force and buoyancy force

A B C D

63. Neap tide occurs when the __________________.
A) Earth is between the Sun and the Moon
B) Moon is between the Earth and the Sun
C) Sun is between the Earth and the Moon
D) Earth is at right angles to the Sun and the Moon

A B C D

64. A semi-diurnal tide refers to ________________.
A) One high and one low water in a month
B) Two high and two low waters in a month
C) One high and one low water in 24 hours
D) Two high and two low waters in 24 hours

A B C D


65. In the oceans, the concentration of oxygen is highest in __________.
A) Bottom water; B) Intermediate water; C) Surface water; D) Sediment

A B C D

66. Remote sensing the sea surface height makes use of _______________.
A) An altimeter; B) A scatterometer; C) A radiometer; D) A current meter

A B C D

67. Which of the following equipment can be used to determine the depth of
the ocean?
A) Radar; B) Sonar; C) Magnetometer; D) Echosounder

A B C D

68. When rain adds fresh water to the ocean, the surface density
A) Increases; B) Decreases; C) Remains constant;
D) Initially increases but ultimately decreases

A B C D

69. Which of the following processes will NOT change the salinity of ocean
water?
A) Sensible heat loss; B) Wind-mixing; C) Evaporation; D) Precipitation

A B C D

70. Thermohaline circulation is driven by __________.
A) Heat flux; B) Fresh water flux; C) Momentum flux; D) Density

A B C D

71. A geostrophic current is a balance between ___________.
A) Pressure gradient force and frictional force
B) Pressure gradient force and Coriolis force
C) Pressure gradient force and centripetal force
D) Pressure gradient force and centrifugal force

A B C D

72. Which of the following is INCORRECT about tsunami?
A) Occurs only in the ocean
B) Very long wave length
C) Very high amplitude in the open ocean
D) Is propagated very fast

A B C D

73. With increasing ocean water depth, light intensity ___________.
A) Diminishes exponentially
B) Diminishes linearly
C) Diminishes quadratically
D) Remains constant

A B C D

74. Sound speed in the oceans does not depend on ___________.
A) Temperature
B) Salinity
C) Pressure
D) Suspended sediment

A B C D

75. Which of the following DOES NOT form a part of the hydrological
cycle?
A) Evaporation
B) Precipitation
C) Mixing
D) River runoff
A B C D

76. When the ocean water is green, it contains a large amount of
___________.
A) Suspended matter
B) Phytoplankton
C) Zooplankton
D) Bacteria

A B C D

77. Knowing the sea water density and height, pressure can be calculated
using _______.
A) Continuity equation
B) Conservation of mass equation
C) Hydrostatic equation
D) Conservation of energy equation

A B C D

78. Which of the following travels a long distance in the oceans without much
attenuation?
A) Microwave
B) Acoustic wave
C) Gamma-ray
D) X-ray

A B C D

79. Planet Venus cannot be seen at mid-night in Bangalores sky because
A) Venus is very faint when it is away from the Sun.
B) Venus is an inner planet of the solar system
C) Venus is in new moon phase at midnight
D) Venus is hidden behind the moon late at night.

A B C D

80. A block of silver of 107g weight is kept in contact with a 1000 W power
source in an otherwise completely isolated system. How long will it take
for the silver

to melt starting from 0
o
C ? (Melting point of silver is 960
o

C; its specific heat is 25 J/ mol C; Molecular weight is 107 g/mole; 1 Watt
sec = 1 Joule)
A) 1 sec; B) 12 sec; C) 24 sec; D) 960 min

A B C D

81. Calculate the angular size of India at the centre of the earth in an east
west direction.
A) 19.5
o
;

B) 14.5
o
;

C) 20
o
; D) 29
o
A B C D

82. In a sudden release of pressure, a volcano throws up a 1 tonne cubical
stone (each side measuring 1 m ) 1 km into the atmosphere. What was the
pressure inside the volcano just when it exploded?
A) 10
5
N; B) 10
7
N; C) 10
9
N; D) 10
11
N

A B C D

83. A person looking at the sky at sunset sees a pattern of stars setting in the
sky. At a later date, he notices that the same set of stars are now rising at
sunset. What is the time difference between the two observations?
A) 14 days; B) 88 days; C) 182 days; D) 274 days

A B C D


84. Two observatories on earth about 6000 km apart claim to have seen the
Chandrayaan (which is still circling the moon) to be occulting two
different stars at the same time. What is the angular separation of the
stars, assuming them to be at infinity?
A) 0.5
o
; B) 0.05
o
; C) 0.005
o
; D) 5.0
o

A B C D

85. A hole is dug through the centre of the earth and a ball is thrown in. What
is the expected behaviour exhibited by the ball?
A) It will fall to the centre of the earth
B) It will oscillate from surface to surface
C) It will come out at the other end and stay there
D) The problem is not fully defined

A B C D

86. Indias first moon mission, Chandrayaan 1, found that we can get 0.2 litre
of water from 5 tons of soil. What is the total useful volume of water
collected over an area of 1 km
2
on the Moon assuming that this dampness
penetrates up to 1m and further assuming a lunar soil density of 5 g/cc?
A) 5x10
4
litres; B) 5x10
5
litres; C) 2x10
4
litres; D) 2x10
5
litres

A B C D

87. Rajesh weighing 100 kg and Iqbal weighing 50 kg climb up the Mount
Everest (9000 m) and return to find that their weights are still the same.
Calculate the minimum difference in the energy consumed by Rajesh and
Iqbal.
A) 4.5x10
3
; B) 4.5x10
4
; C) 4.5x10
5
; D) 4.5x10
6


A B C D

88. In the next Moon Mission, it is planned to take a seismograph to record
quakes on the moon. If the mission is successful, then a quake on the
moon can be recorded using a seismograph installed _________.
A) At the space station on the earth
B) On board the satellite orbiting the moon
C) On the moon
D) On the moon, the orbiting satellite and the earth

A B C D

89. Earthquakes are caused due to sudden displacement along a fault zone,
releasing energy. In the diagram below which is the most stressed block?


(1) (2) (3)
A) 1 and 3
B) 2 only
C) 3 only
D) 1 and 2

A B C D

















90.

Study the diagram below and answer the following questions.


i) Which is the shear wave in the above diagram?
A) X; B) Z; C)Y










A B C


91.


ii) The fastest waves recorded on the seismogram will have the largest
amplitude.
A) False; B) True
A B

92. Sometimes you hear sounds when an earthquake occurs. If there was
vacuum on the surface of the earth, can you hear the sound?
A) Yes
B) Yes, if close to the earthquake epicenter
C) No

A B C

93. Which of the following earthquakes will cause a tsunami?
A) Magnitude 8.7 in Himalaya
B) Magnitude 8.6 in Shillong
C) Magnitude 8.2 in Burma
D) Magnitude 7.5 in Java

A B C D

94. Where do you find island arcs?
A) The Himalaya
B) The Alps
C) Japan

A B C

95 What is the epicenter of an earthquake?
A) place of origin of the earthquake inside the earth
B) a point on the fault on which the earthquake occurs
C) a point on the surface of the earth
D) place at which the earthquake is recorded

A B C D

96 Which law defines the relationship between stress and strain?
A) Boyles law
B) Snells law
C) Hookes law

A B C

97. Primary (P) waves and Love (L) waves are:
A) body waves
B) surface waves
C) body and surface waves
D) shear waves

A B C D

98. ____________ waves cannot travel through fluids.
A) P waves
B) S waves
C) sound waves

A B C

99. The main greenhouse gas is _______________.
A) CFCs; B) CO
2
; C) N; D) Ar

A B C D

100. Dissolved salt can be removed by ________________.
A) Using a sieve; B) Using UV light;
C) Using water jets; D) Using reverse osmosis
A B C D